Six towns and cities in Northwest Indiana have been named some of the safest places in the state.

SafeWise, a website that reviews and compares home safety and security products, released its rankings this month with a list of “Indiana’s 20 Safest Cities in 2018.”

St. John topped the list, followed by Crown Point in fourth, Dyer fifth, Munster sixth, Griffith 15th and Merrillville 17th.

The rankings are based on the number of reported violent crimes, such as aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery, from the FBI’s 2016 crime report statistics per 1,000 people in each city. If there was a tie, property crimes, such as burglary, arson, larceny and motor vehicle theft, were factored in.

If a city was below a designated population threshold or didn’t submit a complete report to the FBI, they were excluded from the rankings, according to SafeWise.

St. John Police Chief James Kveton said he’s “very thankful and proud that the community has been recognized” as number one. It’s a “joint effort” between the community, elected officials and town departments, he said.

St. John had 3.23 percent violent crime and 96.77 percent property crime, according to SafeWise.

Kveton said he agrees that property crime is more prevalent in St. John, such as shoplifting or people burglarizing vehicles. With the holidays approaching, packages stolen on porches, he said.

One of the initiatives St. John police started to address property crime was the “9 p.m. routine,” he said, where each night the department posts on its Facebook page to remind people to lock their vehicles and bring valuables inside their homes.

Like St. John, Crown Point Police Chief Pete Land said he’d like to see an improvement in property theft numbers, especially with people leaving their cars unlocked overnight.

Land said his department has stepped up its traffic enforcement and made an increase in stops. It helps with traffic safety, but it also helps promote a police presence and can help with fighting other crimes, he said.

Land said they have also worked on connecting detectives and the patrol division, so that officers know what detectives are working on and can look for information that might help investigations.

“The open line of communication has really helped,” Land said.

Dyer Police Chief David Hein said he was “excited” that his town was ranked fifth.

“I think the community deserves it,” Hein said.

Dyer had 3.43 percent violent crime and 96.57 percent, according to SafeWise.

Hein said his officers “capitalize on every opportunity we can” to engage with the community, and he said wishes citizens would report more issues to his department.

Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance said “we’re a very data driven police department” that has any analyst who identifies crime trends that patrol officers can address.

Since the beginning of the year, the department has also had a social worker who divides her time between police and schools to work with the community and help address issues that come up, Mance said.

“When it comes down to it, it’s also the hard work of the officers and staff that, I believe, deserve the line of credit,” Mance said.